Biochem Self-Study

[Explosivo]

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I have heard differing opinions on the value of biochem. Some say it really helps, others say its not a big deal as many med students do well anyway never having taken it before. Be that as it may, I'm a bit concerned about not having taken it in undergrad to at least get some exposure to some of the fundamentals. While I did have a fair amount of biochem interspersed throughout the classes I took, I never took a dedicated biochem class.

I was wondering what you all think of this. I'm 2 years out and biochem isn't exactly offered at any of the local community colleges for me to take. It is offered at a local University but it would cost me $1000+ and I don't really know if the course is really worth that kind of money.

Recently I got hold of a friends Biochemistry review book that he used in medical school. I believe it's Lippincotts Illustrated Reviews series. I thought I might use this book to get some good background in biochem and kind of study it as if I was studying for a class for the next few months before the summer begins. That way I'll have some decent background in biochem so I don't begin it totally green. Looking at the book it seems very simple to follow and looks pretty good without being as dense as a regular biochem textbook. It actually appears quite like a cliff notes version of a full sized textbook. All I want is some background before I start med school that's all. I also figure this may be a good way to test how well I learn independently without the benefit of a lecture. I have learned that in med school many students do not attend lecture at all and am curious to find out if I can learn well that way as I have always attended my lectures in undergrad.

Basically what I'm thinking of doing is setting up a course schedule for myself where I'll study the various chapters at certain points. I can use the questions offered at the end of the chapters as a pseudo-test for myself. I figure if I do this I can come away with some decent biochem background which will be better than not having any at all.

Do you guys think this is a good idea? I plan to go through the end of April with this just as if I were taking a regular college course. Once summer hits I'm taking a big long break before I start med school and relax.

Am I nuts for thinking of doing this?

 

[IlianaSedai]

I did take biochemistry as an undergraduate because my school required me to. However, I think what I gained from taking biochemistry as an undergrad was not the factual background, but something else. Essentially, learning to study biochemistry taught me how to study for the preclinical science courses in first and second year of med school.

In my own experience, I found that med school biochemistry was actually not that terrible after having taken other first-year courses the previous term, such as anatomy and histology. Having done those, you will already get a basic method for studying biochem, and it's not how much you know but how you approach the material that will help you in biochemistry.

If you want to study now or even if you want to just think about this for when you take medical biochem, I have some thoughts about it in retrospect that I think I should've done the first time I took it-- both as an undergrad and as a med student. Too late for me now and it hasn't affected my life that much ;-) but if I were to do it all over again, here's what I would approach it:

In each major topic of biochem, you get one or two pathways. Start with the basics, and when you're studying, write these down:

1. What molecules do you START with? (i.e. What is the input?)
2. What molecule(s) are PRODUCED? (i.e. What is the end product?)

In retrospect, I would have made sure to get those down solidly, and get them down for the entire chapter/topic, before going into the details. If you pre-study the subject and have a limited amount of time, just get the starting materials and end product into your head, along with a basic idea of what it's used for. The first time I took biochem as an undergrad (and also the second time I took it during my first year), I delved into the microdetails before I got the basic start/end down solidly, and it made things a lot more inefficient. 🙂

After you KNOW the start/end products, THEN go into details such as the MAJOR enzymes and intermediates. When you study it for real (not just in practice), REPEAT the major facts of each pathway/process FOUR OR FIVE times to sink it into your memory. And there you go. 🙂

 

[PluckyDuk8]

I just wanted to bump this because I am in the same position as Explosivo...taking time off, never took biochem.

Good luck on your Loyola interview btw, Explosivo 🙂

 

[Medici]

There are some nice biochemistry links at:
http://www.medicalstudent.com/ which may be of help for revision purposes...